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Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Reviews D'Carlo is... different

Posted by Kat Robinson on Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 10:20 AM

QUATTRO FORMAGGI RAVIOLI: With DCarlos unusual smooth marinara

Grav Weldon
QUATTRO FORMAGGI RAVIOLI: With D'Carlo's unusual smooth marinara

Everyone has a different way of doing things. I had to remind myself of that when I went to D’Carlo Italian Ristorante out on the county line… because things are certainly done differently out there.

Grav Weldon

We went on a Saturday night with the girl child, and a party was about to come in. The restaurant was really dark!

We were really excited to see Stuffed Whole Artichokes ($9.95) on the menu. It’s been years since I had a good stuffed artichoke in a restaurant (I’m blessed to know a great deal of great home chefs). It took some time to prepare, but when it arrived it was massive — and singular. Just one artichoke on the plate. And… well, it was tasty enough, sure, with Parmesan cheese and bits of tomato and breadcrumbs and onions and garlic. The one thing I had about it was that the thistles hadn’t been trimmed. You know, the little sharp bits?

Kat Robinson

They really sting when you bite into them. I’m used to those being trimmed off.

It was quite some time later (our waitress was also handling the large party that came in after us, which meant we saw little of her) we received our entrées. And something odd happened. My dining companion had ordered the Quattro Formaggi Ravioli ($13.95), six round hand-made cheese ravioli swimming in a sea of the smoothest, most chunk-less marinara I’ve ever encountered, topped with melted cheese and dried herbs. Which, honestly, didn’t excite him.

Grav Weldon

I’d ordered the Pasta-Aglio-Olio Portabella Mushrooms ($13.95), which turned out to be a very large pile of fettuccini noodles washed with some olive oil and garlic with a dusting of Parmesan and dried spices… and slices of roasted mushroom on top. Hrm.

Now, mind you, I tried the mushroom bit right away and was quite pleased. It was very savory and tasty, nicely done. But… I don’t know.

Anyway, we tried each other’s plates, found the other’s more to each other’s liking and switched. And I seriously dug into the ravioli themselves, which were nicely balanced four cheese ravioli.

Kat Robinson

And my dining companion relished the mushrooms and pasta.

Kat Robinson

Still… what was up with that sauce? That was the thinnest, smoothest marinara I’ve encountered outside a can of kid’s pasta obtained at the store… and while it was nicely basil flavored it just seemed… off. I mean, I guess this is just a part of Italian cuisine I haven’t encountered, the chunk-less marinara.

And it’s not that we had a bad meal. It just seemed… a little mediocre. The price seemed a bit out of touch with what we received.

So, I don’t know. Did I just have a weird night there? Is this the norm? I’d love your thoughts.

Tags: D'Carlo Italian Ristorante, Italian

        
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I love DiCarlo's pasta sauce. It's really the only legitimate Italian-American restaurant in Little Rock. The sauce at DiCarlo's remind's me of my grandmother's sauce who was the perfect Italian-American cook. I prefer pasta sauce without chunks of tomato's in the sauce. In fact most legimate Italian-American restaurants serve it that way. Having experienced most of the Italian restaurants in Baltimore's Little Italy, I can tell you that's the way the sauce is prepared. In my opinion, the best Italian-American restaurants are in Baltimore

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Posted by Raven on 07/13/2011 at 12:09 PM

I guess not growing up Italian or having access to anything more than home cooking and The Villa, I'm just unfamiliar with that style of cooking. Main reason I asked!

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Posted by Kat Robinson on 07/13/2011 at 3:23 PM

It's been many years since I dined there, but I was majorly underwhelmed at DiCarlo. Bland sauce with pasta, much like Italian Couple. Seemed very Chef Boyardee-ish. At the time I thought its position at the Pulaski-County line gave it an advantage because it could serve wine, etc., to the dry-county folks who wanted it. But I must say that its long history, even now when many of Bryant and Benton restaurants are wet, means it's developed and kept a following. Should give it another try, I guess.

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Posted by Big Fun on 07/13/2011 at 8:11 PM

I agree with Raven. I don't eat eaten at DiCarlo's enough. It's not my favorite Italian in the state, but it's one the better ones, I think. My favorite menu item is their eggplant Parmesan. It is the best in the city, I think. That being said, I liked the Italian couple too (I admit it was going downhill for a bit), and I'm of Italian heritage. Maybe you guys are just more tuned to Americanized Italian.

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Posted by Amanda Galiano on 07/14/2011 at 12:44 AM

And the Villa is delicious (I could live on their salads), but definitely not authentic!

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Posted by Amanda Galiano on 07/14/2011 at 12:46 AM

I really enjoy the Gnocchi's at DiCarlo's and they have excellent pizza as well. I usually pass on meatballs at any Italian place around since no one that I have tried makes quality meatballs with ground veal, ground pork, and ground beef for the meat! I make them the way my grandmother taught me. Changing topics, Has anyone had the smoked gnocchi's at Salut Bistro? they are amazing! I think Salut is an underated restaurant around here.

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Posted by Raven on 07/14/2011 at 9:18 AM

My wife and I drove by the restaurant and also the big billboard on I-30 for several years before we decided to give D'Carlo a try. We're sorry we waited so long! We love the place. We usually go there for Valentine's,but it has been a few years since we've been now. We have a great Italian place here now!

My wife and I usually alternate between pizza and entrees,and everything has been wonderful.

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Posted by AllenK on 07/15/2011 at 5:34 PM

The best Italian restaurant I have been to recently is Zaffinos by Nori on Kiehl Ave. The owner is from Venice.

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Posted by Andrea on 07/18/2011 at 4:49 PM

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